{"product_id":"the-dilemmas-of-working-women-fumio-yamamoto-9780063423619","title":"The Dilemmas of Working Women: Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Now offered in translation for the first time, this collection featuring women navigating societal expectations (and their small rebellions) is a classic.\" -- \u003cem\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA spiky, edgy collection of five sly yet sensitive stories spotlighting clear-eyed and \"difficult\" women who are navigating their identities as workers and women in contemporary Japan--a feminist, anti-capitalist modern classic published outside Asia and in English for the first time.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Dilemmas of Working Women\u003c\/em\u003e is Fumio Yamamoto's darkly witty look at modern Japanese women who are ambivalent about their lives and jobs. In \"Naked,\" a woman who's simultaneously lost her business and her husband finds that it is surprisingly comfortable to stay at home sewing stuffed animals, even if it makes her a \"loser\" in the eyes of society. In \"Planarian,\" a young woman recovering from breast cancer tells her friends and boyfriend that she would prefer to be the titular worm to organically regenerate her body. Each of these spiky women--as well as the three other protagonists in this groundbreaking work--chafes against social expectations that equate work with worth and demand women squeeze into the confining and sometimes dehumanizing role of employee in a world built by and for men.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFirst published in Japan in 2000, \u003cem\u003eThe Dilemmas of Working Women\u003c\/em\u003e struck a nerve with Japanese readers and became a bestselling literary sensation, selling nearly half a million copies and winning the prestigious Naoki Prize in Literature. A quarter of a century later, this brilliant modern classic--available for the first time outside Asia and in English--remains deliciously funny and astonishingly relevant.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTranslated from the Japanese by Brian Bergstrom\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Fumio Yamamoto\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0063423618\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780063423619\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Harpervia\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/11\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"Fumio Yamamoto","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47931221639423,"sku":"9780063423619","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_942b1a99-bece-4d17-9d66-b01544c0c4f9.jpg?v=1766347281","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-dilemmas-of-working-women-fumio-yamamoto-9780063423619","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}